Issue #23: The Trust Economy 💎

Issue 23
March 12th, 2026

Something kind of remarkable happened this week: Time Magazine (the same publication that's been profiling presidents and dissecting global power structures for over a century) published a full defense of influencers. Not a trend piece. Not a "kids these days" explainer. An actual argument that the creator class is systematically undervalued, that the gap between the dollars flowing into creators and the respect paid to them is one of the most glaring disconnects in modern media.

We all know this to be true, but it’s really cool and validating to see it from a reputable publication. And the why behind the timing is perhaps more interesting than the article itself.

Because in the same week, Edelman dropped its 2026 Trust Barometer – a 26-year-old annual study that's essentially the gold standard for measuring who people trust and why. The headline finding: trust is retreating inward. 7 in 10 people globally are now hesitant to trust anyone who doesn't share their values or background. Trust in institutions, media, and big platforms keeps declining. But trust in people who feel like you (ahem: small creators, niche voices, community leaders) is the one category that's growing.

The creator economy isn't just getting bigger. It's becoming the default infrastructure for how trust works in the 2020s. And everything that happened this week, from X cracking down on AI-generated war content to a 22-year-old Staples employee becoming one of the most effective marketers on the internet, points to the same conclusion.

Trust is contracting. And that's the best thing that's ever happened to creators.

The Edelman Trust Barometer has been running since 2000, and the 2026 edition paints a picture that should feel very familiar if you've been reading this newsletter. The world is becoming more insular. People aren't trusting more — they're trusting smaller. They're retreating into communities where shared values and personal connection matter more than credentials or scale.

For the creator economy, this is the entire ballgame.

Here's the data point that jumped off the page: among people who trust an influencer, 62% said they would reconsider a company they actively distrust if that influencer vouched for it. Think about that for a second. Creators aren't just driving awareness or engagement anymore. They're functioning as trust brokers – translating institutional credibility through personal relationships. That's a fundamentally different role than "person who posts sponsored content."

And this is happening at exactly the moment when institutional trust is cratering. The Barometer found that government, media, and business are all losing credibility with the general population. The only category where trust is increasing is peer-level influence – people who feel accessible, authentic, and values-aligned with their audience.

Now zoom out. Last week we talked about how Reed Duchscher argued the platforms won't allow another MrBeast-scale creator, and how Devotion is betting that AI can scale brand partnerships across thousands of micro-communities. The Edelman data validates that thesis from the demand side: consumers are already doing the work of narrowing their trust circles. The shift isn't being forced by algorithms alone. People are choosing to trust smaller, closer, more specific voices because the big ones don't feel reliable anymore.

Time Magazine's defense of influencers lands differently in that context. It argues the creator class drives culture – from language (Jools Lebron's "very demure" phrase) to purchasing behavior to the aesthetics of everyday life – while receiving a fraction of the respect given to traditional media. With the creator economy projected to hit $480 billion by 2027 according to Goldman Sachs, the gap between economic impact and cultural legitimacy is closing fast. But it's Edelman's data that explains why it's closing. Creators aren't just entertaining people. They're the primary mechanism through which trust moves in a low-trust world.

We're entering what I'd call the trust economy. Attention is abundant, content is infinite (especially with AI), and production quality is table stakes. The scarce resource is trust. Creators who understand that their real product isn't content, instead it's credibility, are the ones who will build durable businesses. Everyone else is just making noise.

Three data points that tell a bigger story.

X announced that creators who post AI-generated videos depicting armed conflict without disclosure will be suspended from the Creator Revenue Sharing Program for 90 days. Repeat violations mean permanent removal. X's head of product, Nikita Bier, framed it bluntly: during wartime, AI-generated content that mimics real events is a direct threat to information integrity. Violations get flagged through Community Notes, metadata analysis, and other technical signals. This is the first time a major platform has drawn a direct line between AI transparency and monetization access, not just content removal, but revenue consequences. It won't be the last. Expect YouTube and TikTok to follow with similar policies by end of year. The message to creators: if AI is in it, label it, or your paycheck disappears.

Meet Kaeden Rowland, a 22-year-old print specialist at Staples who became one of the most effective brand marketers on the internet by accident. In January, she started posting TikToks from behind the counter showing off services most people didn't know Staples offered (direct mail campaigns, passport renewals, custom mugs) all with the energy of a friend who genuinely loves her job. Her most viral posts have hit 4-6.5 million views. People in the comments are saying they've switched their business orders to Staples because of her. Staples corporate has leaned in, and Rowland has been meeting with executives to share ideas. This is the employee-generated content playbook working in real time, and it's a signal that the next wave of creator marketing might not come from influencers at all, but from the people who actually work at the company.

I mentioned this above, but it’s worth repeating. The Edelman Trust Barometer found that among people who trust an influencer, 62% said they'd reconsider a company they actively distrust if that creator vouched for it. For financial influencers specifically, 57% said the same. This isn't "trust transfers." This is trust rehabilitation – creators serving as a bridge between brands and audiences that have written those brands off entirely. If you're a creator, this is the single most important data point in your next brand pitch: you're not just selling reach. You're selling the ability to repair trust that traditional advertising can't touch.

What the platforms shipped this week and why you should care.

Instagram's connected TV app officially launched on Google TV devices in the U.S., following its December 2025 debut on Amazon Fire TV. The app organizes Reels into interest-based channels and plays them automatically with sound for hands-free viewing. Households can add up to five accounts, and there's a dedicated TV-only account option for communal viewing. On the monetization front, Instagram rolled out clickable links directly within Reels, but there's a catch. The feature is gated behind Meta Verified, starting at $44.99/month for just two linked Reels, scaling up to $349.99/month for six. Instagram also expanded carousels to 20 frames.

YouTube expanded voice replies to all creators, a feature first tested in December 2024 that lets you respond to comments with voice recordings instead of text. It's now available on the main app and Studio Mobile for both Android and iOS. Alongside this, YouTube is testing new AI-powered Shorts remix tools: Add an Object lets viewers insert AI-generated items into existing clips, and Reimagine lets them transform a single frame into an entirely new AI-generated video.

Your best brand deal might already work for you.

The Staples Baddie story isn't just a fun internet moment – it's a blueprint.

Kaeden Rowland didn't pitch anyone. She didn't have a media kit or an agent. She was literally clocked in when she started making the content that would turn her into one of the most talked-about creators of the quarter. And here's the uncomfortable truth for traditional influencer marketing: her content is outperforming campaigns that cost ten times more because it's real. She actually loves working at Staples. You can't manufacture that.

And if you need a lesson in what NOT to do, how about McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski's Big Arch taste test. If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t seen it he calls the burger a 'product,' took the world's smallest bite, and got roasted into oblivion. It accidentally went mega-viral, but that's exactly the point: the internet can smell corporate inauthenticity from a mile away. Be the Staples Baddie, not the McDonald's CEO. Unless this was a genius reverse psychology trick by the McDonald’s marketing team, but that’s a whole other can of worms.

If you're a creator who also has a day job: You're sitting on an untapped content goldmine. The day-in-the-life, behind-the-scenes, "let me show you something cool about where I work" format is crushing right now. It works because it hits all three trust signals simultaneously: authenticity (you actually work there), expertise (you know the product), and relatability (you're a regular person with a job). If your employer is cool with it, start posting. If they're not, pitch them on why they should be – Staples is proof that this converts.

This means that smart brand marketers should consider looking at who's already telling stories from the inside. The New Engen report this week highlighted employee-generated content as one of the defining trends of 2026. Rowland built 491K followers and measurably drove store traffic without Staples spending a single dollar on creator fees. The employees who already believe in your brand are your most credible voices. Give them a phone and get out of the way.

That's all for this week. If you found this valuable, forward it to a creator friend who needs to hear that smaller might actually be bigger. And if someone forwarded this to you, sign up to get your own issue every Thursday.